Yohji Yamamoto's Latest New Era Capsule Is Graced by Yuuka Asakura's Edgy Illustrations
The longtime Yamamoto collaborator’s work mingles with signature patterns and runway invitation art.
Legendary designer Yohji Yamamoto has enlisted the artistic aid of painter Yuuka Asakura for years, gracing his flowing garments with her elegant abstract swirls and scratchy illustrations for years. Now, the Japanese designer has brought Asakura along for his ongoing New Era partnership, emblazoning some of her latest work atop a series of casual summer staples, including hats, shirts and bags.
Accompanied by artwork utilized for runway show invitations and Yamamoto’s signature — a frequent accent on his New Era releases — the graphics are primarily informed by Asakura’s paint daubs and sketches, including one stark white rendering of Yamamoto’s dog, Rin. These cues clash throughout the lineup, with the Fall/Winter 2016 smiley face drawing mingling with simple text accents (“NO FUTURE”) and Yamamoto’s iconic skull and flower and skull and rose patterns.
There’s a plethora of garments on hand this go-round, ranging from New Era Japan‘s deep “Urban Pack” bag to a sleek fisherman’s cap to a velcro patch 59FIFTY and even a tiny hat keychain. As one would expect, all of the designs are executed atop a black base, both to highlight the graphics and reiterate Yamamoto’s stylistic bent.
All of Yohji Yamamoto’s latest collaborative items hit New Era Japan’s web store and Japanese Yohji Yamamoto outposts on April 14.
New Era most recently rejoined Dragon Ball Z for another round of graphic goods.
